In a style reminiscent of the psychedelic concert posters of the era, The Amazing Spider-Man #100 features a rogue’s gallery of black-lit supervillains, while Spidey seems to crawl right out of the frame into into the reader’s lap.

Written by Stan Lee and penciled by Gil Kane, The Amazing Spider-Man #100 promises “the wildest shock-ending of all time!” And, it delivers…

…But first, the tale centers on Peter Parker’s desire to be a “normal” person and for Spider-Man to not be viewed as a criminal. He wants to live a simple life with Gwen Stacy, without the responsibilities of being the might Web-Crawler.

Peter creates a serum that will strip him of his extraordinary powers, which in his darkest moments he views as a burden too heavy to bear. The potion causes Peter to slip into an action-filled fever dream! While in the spell, he must address his guilt over Uncle Ben’s death and the other “feet of clay” challenges that made the character so interesting to readers (and iconic).

What The Amazing Spider-Man #100 demonstrated (without an spoilers) is how — to use a 21st century term — “relatable” the character was within the realm of American culture (then and now) . Via Stan’s voice, the reader learns how deeply conflicted Peter has become because he is a hero, but also an outsider. This notion is one that people have been dealing with forever — how to fit into one’s own shoes.

While that is the essence of Peter/Spider-Man, let’s not forget the twist ending — a Stan Lee specialty. What a doozey!